A Fire upon the Deep by Vernor Vinge
"A Fire upon the Deep" is a science fiction novel that explores the catastrophic effects of an unleashed entity known as the Perversion, which threatens civilizations across the galaxy. The narrative is set within a complex cosmology divided into layers, including the Unthinking Depths, Slow Zone, Beyond, and Transcend, each influencing the nature of intelligence and communication. The story begins with an advanced society inadvertently releasing the Perversion, prompting a desperate response from a diverse crew aboard the spaceship Out of Band II. Central to the plot are two human children, Jefri and Johanna Olsndot, who survive a massacre by alien creatures and become pivotal figures in the struggle against the Perversion. Alongside them, characters like Ravna Bergsndot and Pham Nuwen, the latter being a creation of a powerful entity called Old One, collaborate to implement a countermeasure against the advancing threat. As tensions escalate between factions on Tines World, the crew races to activate the countermeasure, leading to a climactic resolution where the Perversion is neutralized, albeit at a significant cost to civilization. The novel delves into themes of survival, the interplay of intelligence across different life forms, and the consequences of advanced technological capabilities.
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A Fire upon the Deep
First published: 1992
Type of work: Novel
Type of plot: Science fiction—catastrophe
Time of work: Org years 52089-52091
Locale: Relay, Tines World, Harmonious Repose, and on board the spaceship Out of Band II
The Plot
A Fire upon the Deep tells the story of the Perversions attack on civilization and of the countermeasures taken against it. The Perversion is unwittingly unleashed by an advanced society, but the process also produces a countermeasure. As the Perversion advances, the unusual crew of the spaceship Out of Band II races to activate and guide the countermeasure. They succeed, and the galaxy is saved, although a substantial piece of high civilization has been set back for some period of time.
In the environment of A Fire upon the Deep, shells of potential, shaped roughly like a childs toy top, define activity in the Milky Way. Even thought cannot exist in the central Unthinking Depths. The closer that sentients approach this limit, the less intelligent they become. The next shell out defines the Slow Zone, where any information transfer is constrained by the speed of light. The outermost boundary separates the Beyond, where advanced civilizations dwell, from the Transcend, where the Powers dwell.
On a planet barely inside the Transcend, the Straumli Realm accidentally unleashes a great evil power, the Perversion. As researchers escape their laboratory, they take with them a countermeasure to the Perversion. This countermeasure lands on Tines World, very near the Slow Zone. As they emerge from their ship, the humans are massacred by large, somewhat doglike creatures with a pack intelligence requiring at least four members. Only two children survive: Jefri Olsndot stays in the Flenser Republic and is carefully nurtured; Johanna Olsndot is skillfully spirited away to the Woodcarver’s domain.
On Relay, a prime location in the communications network of the Beyond civilizations, Ravna Bergsndot happily works as a student librarian. She is pulled from her accustomed duties to orient a revived primitive spacefaring human, Pham Nuwen, to work for a Power known as Old One. As Ravna and Pham get to know each other, they meet and become acquainted with two Skroderriders, plant intelligences named Blueshell and Greenstalk, who fly Out of Band II as interstellar traders.
Pham turns out to be a creation of Old One. As Straumli Realm falls, Jefri calls for help. The administration of Relay commissions Out of Band II to rescue Jefri and activate the countermeasure, instituting a multifunction refit of the ship. When the Perversion attacks Relay and kills Old One, Old One Godshatters, turning into Pham. Ravna, Pham, and the Skroderriders run for Tines World in Out of Band II.
As Out of Band II arrives at Tines world, the situation is desperate. War has broken out between the Flenser Republic and the Woodcarvers domain, and the Perversion is advancing fast. The crew of Out of Band II rescues the children and activates the countermeasure, which causes a wave out of the Slow Zone that extends into the Transcend. This eliminates the Perversion and all Beyonder civilizations in its path.